CAIRO, EGYPT (21 August 2024) An Egyptian Christian who has been denied an ID card that correctly stated his religious affiliation for over 10 years has finally won his case with the support of ADF International.  

Despite his Christian upbringing and faith, a clerical error by Egyptian authorities resulted in Cairo resident Elias* being listed as Muslim on all of his identification documents. Due to regulations set forth by Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, this error prevented Elias from being able to engage in Christian activities, including sending his children to a Christian school. 

His repeated requests for the authorities to recognize his chosen faith were ignored, leaving him and his family subject to discrimination in many of the basic activities he wanted to engage in and preventing his children from receiving a Christian education. 

ADF International supported the case through its allied attorney network, resulting in the government ordering that Elias’ documents be changed to reflect his religious beliefs. 

“In Egypt, we are aware of numerous cases where religious minorities suffer discrimination and harassment when they request to change their religion on their identity documents. Despite years of legal challenges and attempts to change the law to reflect religious freedom standards, the situation has remained largely unchanged. We are delighted that Elias’ request was finally allowed, and we will continue to support other individuals who face issues with their identity cards. No one should be denied religious freedom because of registration requirements,” said Kelsey Zorzi, Director of Global Religious Freedom.  

Background 

In Egypt, where the Ministry of Interior makes it mandatory for every citizen to hold identity documents that state their religious affiliation, an ID card that erroneously states one’s religion as being Muslim can lead to severe violations of religious freedom. Every year, religious minorities are refused their requests to change their religion on their documents from Islam to a different religion, and this can lead to discrimination, hostility, and restrictions to family life.  

Religious persecution in Egypt 

In addition to Elias, ADF International is supporting international legal efforts for the release of Nour Girgis and Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, two Christian men who have been held in pre-trial detention for over two years. The men were arrested in 2021 for their involvement with a Facebook page that is dedicated to supporting people who have converted from Islam to Christianity. Authorities arrested the men after discovering their affiliation with the page, spuriously linking their involvement with terrorism activities.   

ADF International is pursuing international legal mechanisms to advocate for their urgent release following a letter from Abdo to his family where he vowed to commence a hunger strike due to the injustice he has endured. 

*Name changed for security purposes